Why servicing China's high-end travellers is below par

The use of police escorts to beat the traffic when luxury travellers visit places such as Jakarta are now popular, says Clement Wong, the founder of BeMyGuest.travel.

Wong was speaking at the Luxperience Thought Leaders forum at Sydney Town Hall.

David Thomas, a consultant for Think Global Consulting, told the audience: "China is modernising, not westernising".

He said that affluent Chinese travellers understood that the West had good infrastructure but were puzzled with small things, such as why it's difficult to get a caddy when they visit Australian golf courses.

This was indicative of the challenges when "a hierarchical society travels to an egalitarian on," said Thomas.

Luxperience panellists agreed that human 'software' challenges, understanding and personalisation were the new frontier in servicing China's high-end travellers.